ENDNOTES
way too postmodern for me. It may help to
ARTISTS I N THIS I SSUE
be stoned while watching this film. Perhaps the filmmaker was—he seems convinced
Eric Brandt is a photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area. See more of his work at ericbrandtimages.com.
that having several celebrities repeat the same anecdote hints at a grand continuity of life, when the effect is more like a skipping record, or, if you’re Thompson, a room that is spinning around you. Despite the laziness of the filmmaking (a good editor goes a long way), Thompson is still terribly captivating; most writers dream about composing something as well phrased as his suicide note. By way of comparison, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, by the Oscarwinning director Alex Gibney, is a much better film on the same subject. Where Buy the Ticket relies more on interviews (hearsay, if you will), Gonzo relies on footage of Thompson himself, and the film is full of it. There is Thompson driving a huge American car, there is Thompson running with the Hell’s Angels, there is Thompson in a speedboat amidst a school of perky dolphins, and there is Thompson shooting a gun—and shooting and shooting and shooting. This assembled material offers us a collage of the man’s complicated personality. Some scenes support the prevailing image of Thompson: a macho dude with “twenty-two guns in the house,” which, like their owner, are always loaded. But there is also footage that contradicts that myth, scenes that are heartbreaking: the fear in his eyes as a Hell’s Angel rides onto the set (surprise!) of an interview, or a scene where he is a celebrity contestant on a game show and he looks so fragile, so self-consciously human as to seem almost delicate. Overall, the film is, as Thompson was, both complex and fascinating. Page 86 • G E IST 73 • Summer 2009
Debbie Cole is manager of the Pender Harbour Aquatic and Fitness Centre, and a certified fitness instructor. Michael Chrisman is a photographer and an explorer of parts of the modern landscape that most people ignore: alleyways, industrial brownfields, vast parking lots. Visit him at chrisman.ca. Brenna Maag is a printmaker and sculptor who lives and gardens in Mission, B.C. Postcards from the Peacework Project are available at brennamaag.ca. Mandelbrot is Stephen Osborne, the publisher of Geist, in another life. He is also a photographer and has been writing about photography since 1990. Visit his website, phototaxis.ca, and see more of his work for Geist at geist.com/author/ mandelbrot. Michael McLeod is a photographer who still shoots film. He lives in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. See his work for Geist at geist.com/author/mcleod-michael. Toni Onley (1928–2004) painted Canadian landscapes with watercolours. Watch the documentary Landscape Revealed: the Life and Art of Toni Onley at tonionley.com. Bryan Partington is a photographer from Edmonton who now lives in Seattle. Visit him at striatic.net. Kate Reid is a writer, an illustrator and half of the writing duo Best Liz & K8. She lives in Vancouver and her work can be seen at bestlizand kate.com. Ewa Monika Zebrowski is a visual artist who lives in Montreal. One of her images appears on the cover of Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (McClelland & Stewart, 2009). Visit her at ewazebrowski.com.